Buoyed by the success in previous edition, SL Tea Board reposes
faith in this annual expo at Mumbai and considers WTCE as the definite
platform for doing business with India’s tea & coffee sectors. * Being
held from 20th Oct – 22nd Oct 2016 at Mumbai, World Tea & Coffee Expo
is India’s only trade show focused on Tea, Coffee and allied
sectors. (Free-Pr-Online.com)

Mumbai, India, June 27th, 2016 — In view of the encouraging demand
for its tea in India, the Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB) will be
participating in India’s only tea and coffee trade fair, World Tea &
Coffee Expo (WTCE), Mumbai through an exclusive Pavilion for the
second consecutive year. The 4th edition of this annual event at
Mumbai, India will be held from October 20th to October 22nd 2016.
Representing the Board at the exclusive pavilion will be several
leading Sri Lankan tea companies with varieties of tea produce, brands
and flavours. The companies shall not only be seeking buyers but also
joint venture partners and distributors across India. The companies
shall also be looking at accessing the latest technological advances
in the Hot Beverage sector which will be on display at this niche
one-of-its-kind expo.

Says Mr Rohan Pethiyagoda, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tea Board, “The
Indian markets now offer enormous scope for product innovation as
demonstrated by rising consumption of Sri Lankan tea. WTCE is very
professionally executed and offers SL tea companies a single door
opportunity to transact business with India.” The country has a
limited domestic consumption which leaves over 90 % of produce for
exports. This is where India as a market for Sri Lankan tea companies
fits in. Rising consumption due to changing lifestyles and increasing
urbanization in India has encouraged neighbouring country’s tea
producers to explore Indian markets. The spread of tea and coffee
retail chains has raised the level of tea consumption across all types
of tea. Many domestic branded tea companies are fulfilling the demand
gap through imports from abroad.

The WTCE 2016 is an ideal platform therefore to showcase famous
specialty SL teas such as Black Tea, CTC Tea, Ceylon Super Pekoe black
tea, Ceylon green tea, White tea, Ceylon Silver tip tea, Instant tea
etc. Additionally, India has a barter trade agreement with a few
countries for which India regularly imports SL tea and further exports
to these countries. According to Commerce Ministry data, Sri Lanka
exported INR 382 crore worth of tea to India in the year 2014-15
reflecting a 33% annual growth over the previous year’s INR 285
crore.

WTCE annually brings domestic and international buyers and suppliers
of tea and coffee together in a manner that benefits the industry by
enabling forging of new business relationships. The expo also affords
an opportunity for the allied industries such as Packaging, Vending
Solutions, machineries, accessories and other technologies.
Significant activities at the WTCE will include B2B match-making,
Workshops & Championships and a High Level 2-day Conference by
Industry leaders, academicians and policy makers.

Says Ms. Priti M Kapadia, Director, Sentinel Exhibitions Asia P Ltd,
“WTCE is supported by many eminent trade bodies including Tea Board
of India (Govt. of India) and fulfils the need for an organized event
for Tea & Coffee Companies in India to come together for exchange of
ideas and business transactions”. For further information please log
onto www.worldteacoffeeexpo.com or call on +91 22 28625131 or email to[email protected] / [email protected]